swing state support a news cbs news poll shows president obama holding a significant lead over mitt romney in three key states. >> road to the future. google paves the way for a car that can drive and park itself. >> i expect self-driving cars will be far more safer. the >> immaculate misconception, nfl backs up a controversial decision made by the replacement officials but the call is raising questions about the referee lockout and becoming a campaign issue. this is the "cbs morning news" for wednesday, september 26, 2012. good morning, everybody.

good to be with you. i'm terrell brown. the race for the white house has taken a new turn. less than six weeks before the presidential election sprab wpr obama is widening his lead over mitt romney. it's estimated 270 are solidly behind president obama or leaning in his direction while 206 votes are in mitt romney agencies camp. cbs news quinnipiac university "new york times" poll said president obama has gained significant ground over mitt romney in ohio, pennsylvania and florida. we have more on this. >> reporter: good morning. that's right. both are scrambling for support in those potentially make-or-break states. today honeying in on ohio. by bus or by plane for mitt romney and paul ryan this election could come down to one state. >> o.h.

o.h.! works every time. >> reporter: ohio is one of the key swing states in this election and today romney and president obama will be battling for attention there, but the latest cbs news poll swing states shows romney with some ground to make up. the poll just out this morning has president obama up 10 points in the buckeye state, he had six point lead before the convention. >> we tried before, if it don't work, we don't like it, we're not going back. >> reporter: the numbers are similar in florida where the president has a nine point lead over romney and in pennsylvania he's maintained a double digit advantage for a couple of months now. but it's ohio that's been the main focus of the campaign. with president obama and his republican rival each making his 14th trip to the state. >> here in ohio -- >> reporter: turn on the tv in ohio and this is what you're likely to see. both campaigns spent more here

than any other state. president obama and his allies have spent nearly $48 million on ads in the state since may 1st. romney is not far behind. he and the super p.a.c.s supporting him have pumped in nearly 43 million. >> how can people say they want four more years of president obama. we can't afford four more years of president obama. >> reporter: romney has been trying to make the case he'll do a better job with the economy but in all three states the polls shows president obama leading on that issue. >> the path i offer is harder but to a better place. i'm asking you to choose that future. >> reporter: romney does lead in one category, voters in those same states say he would do a better job on the deficit. and both candidates will be appearing in the cleveland and toledo area today and romney will also be making a stop near columbus. >> it's on. thanks. two powerful bombs exploded in the syrian capital of damascus

this morning. the explosion he did to at any timed minutes apart followed by gunfire. the attack was blamed on terrorists. damascus has been rocked by a series of bombings in recent months as the uprising against president bashir al assad's okay late. >> egypt's president is scheduled to address the u.n. general assembly. on tuesday president obama addressed the general assembly. >> i would like to begin today by telling you about an american named chris stevens. >> reporter: the president told world leaders that the slain u.s. ambassador to libya, chris ste vaccines, had gone to benghazi to establish a cultural center and help modernize a hospital. >> today we must declare this violence and intolerance has no place. >> reporter: it's still unclear

what motivated the terrorist attack but president obama focused on that anti-muslim video made in california explaining why the u.s. can't and won't ban a movie that mr. obama himself described as crude and disgusting. >> i know that not all countries in this body share this particular understanding of the protection of free speech. we recognize that. but in 2012 at a time when anyone with a cell phone can spread offensive views around the world with the click of a button, the notion that we can control the flow of information is obsolete. >> reporter: a lot has changed since this group of leaders met a year ago. egypt and tunisia have held free election, libya's dictator, moammar gadhafi was deposed and killed. but the president argued those countries can't achieve

democracy without sacrifice. >> i will always defend their right to do so. >> reporter: the president went into great detail about everything the u.s. had done to promote democracy in the very countries where protests are now taking place outside u.s. embassies. >> mr. obama used his address to take aim at iran. >> the iranian government props up a dictator in damascus and supports terrorist groups abroad. time and again it has failed to take the opportunity to demonstrate that its nuclear program is peaceful. >> iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad did not respond to mr. obama's remarks. he said he didn't want to influence the presidential election. tuesday he told the associated press a new world order needs to emerge from years of which he described as american bullying and domination. mahmoud ahmadinejad scheduled to

address the general assembly this morning. you can see our interview a little later on cbs "this morning." cbs money watch now time. budget protests in europe and airlines rack up those baggage fees. ashley morrison has more. >> reporter: workers in greece went on a general strike today for the first time since the coalition government was formed three months ago. they are protesting $16 billion worth of upcoming spending cuts that will slash wages, pentecost and welfare benefits but with the country on the brink of bankruptcy the greek government is expected to approve those unpopular cuts. and more austerity protests in madrid. thousands of demonstrators clashed with police. they are demanding constitutional reform as the government prepares a new round of austerity measures. concerns over recoveryawayed down overseas recovery. nikkei sank 2% while hang sang

lost 1%. stocks on wall street plunged after a federal reserve official raised doubts on whether the bank's effort to boost economic growth would work. the dow lost 101 points while the nasdaq fell 43 point in the worse selloff in three months. investors may be uneasy in america but americans say they are feeling more confident. the consumer confidence board leaped up to 90 pushed by brighter outlook for hiring. still 20 points below what's considered to be healthy. consumer spending drives 70% of the nation's economy. good news on the housing market. home prices kept their upward momentum in july in 20 major u.s. cities. on average the standard & poor kay schiller index report priced are up 1.2% thanks to more sales and fewer foreclosures. second straight year-over-year gain. if you notice how expensive it's

getting to fly. get a load of this. baggage fees are taking off with u.s. carriers hauling in more than $1.7 billion in just the first half of this year. that's the most ever. delta collected the most, nearly $430 million. airlines first started charging for the first checked bag back in 2008. what are we going to do? >> they charge for bags, window seats, leg room. they will start charge you to use the bathroom. >> i'll pay for that. >> good point. coming up on the morning news, smart cars get the green light. so-called driverless cars move another step closer to becoming reality in california. this is the morning news. [ white ] in my kitchen the heart of a great dish

is a great tasting stock. knorr homestyle stock. it's concentrated with just the right ingredients simmered to perfection. delicious. knorr homestyle stock, tastes like stock made from scratch. if you think occasional irregulathink twice.ig deal, it may be a sign that your digestive system could be working better. listen to this. with occasional irregularity, things your body doesn't use could be lingering in your system, causing discomfort. but activia has been shown in clinical studies to help with slow intestinal transit when consumed 3 times per day. 7 out of 10 doctors recommend activia. and the great taste is recommended by me! ♪ activia and every day since, two years ago, the people of bp made a commitment to the gulf. we've worked hard to keep it. bp has paid over twenty-three billion dollars to help people and businesses who were affected,

and to cover cleanup costs. today, the beaches and gulf are open for everyone to enjoy -- and many areas are reporting their best tourism seasons in years. we've shared what we've learned with governments and across the industry so we can all produce energy more safely. i want you to know, there's another commitment bp takes just as seriously: our commitment to america. bp supports nearly two-hundred-fifty thousand jobs in communities across the country. we hired three thousand people just last year. bp invests more in america than in any other country. in fact, over the last five years, no other energy company has invested more in the us than bp. we're working to fuel america for generations to come. today, our commitment to the gulf, and to america, has never been stronger. driverless cars. i kid you not. driverless cars have taken a big

step forward to become a reality in california and from our san francisco affiliate, hands-free driving could save lives. >> today we're looking at science-fiction becoming tomorrow's reality. the self-driving car. >> reporter: governor jerry brown arrived at google's headquarters in a self-driving car to accelerate california's self-driverless cars. it directs the dmv to adopt regulations. the governor signed the legislation in front of an audience of google employees. google co-founder was asked when the public might get their hands on this vehicle. >> i don't want to over promise right now. we have some pretty ambitious targets. >> reporter: but he did say five

years or less and he believes it will save lives. 99% of all traffic and accidents are caused by human error. >> i expect driverless cars will be far safer. >> reporter: with cameras and scanner laser it opens the possibility of blind driving. cutting down on congestion as self driving cars line themselves up in precision and let drivers to do something else while driving. who gets the ticket in a self driving car if it parks itself and no one is inside and it runs a red light. >> we'll work that out. that's is going to be the easiest problem to work out. >> self starting cars do not run red lights. >> reporter: the governor seemed to want to turn this bill signing into a celebration in what is right with california since recent news made it clear what's going wrong. >> in the mid-of the flaws there's power of design and

imagination to build the future and that's your legacy. >> law enforcement agencies such as the california highway patrol expressed skepticism of the technology. we'll take a quick break. when we come back we'll have your weather forecast and in sports more fallout from the controversial call that ended monday night's football game. this is the morning news. [ male announcer ] fight pepperoni heartburn and pepperoni breath fast

with tums freshers! concentrated relief that goes to work in seconds and freshens breath. ♪ tum...tum...tum...tum... tums! ♪ [ male announcer ] tums freshers. fast relief, fresh breath, prego?! but i've bought ragu for years. [ thinking ] wonder what other questionable choices i've made? i choose date number 2! whooo! [ sigh of relief ] [ male announcer ] choose taste. choose prego.

here's a look at the weather in some cities around the country. new york a few thunderstorms. 77 degrees. chance of thunderstorms in miami, 88. chicago, 66, dallas 92. sun and clouds in los angeles, 80 degrees. let's check your national forecast. expect rain weather in many parts of the northeast. the nation's heartland and rocky mountain states. most of the south will stay dry. isolated thunderstorms are possible in florida. pacific northwest is also expected to stay dry but smoke from fires in that region will cause air quality problems. in sports this morning they are calling it an immaculate misconception. the controversial decision made by the nfl's replacement referees at the end of monday night's football game is the talk of the country. it's raising questions about the league's lockout of its regular officials and becoming a talking point on the presidential campaign trail. >> reporter: nfl says controversial ruling in monday

night's same hawks/packers game will stand, replacement referees made the call in the last seconds of the football game when the seahawks receiver and the packers defender went after the same pass. referees say seahawks caught the play. but replays show a different story. on tuesday the league admit ad penalty should have been called on the seattle player for pushing. but said the results of the game is final. >> it's different era. no question. >> reporter: regular refs have been locked out signs june over a dispute in their contract. the one who made monday night's call had received high school and why are college games. it takes a guy two full years to get acclimated to the speed of that game. >> reporter: this is a retired nfl referee. >> two of them should have

conversed with each other before they made any signals. >> reporter: the controversial call got the attention of the republican and democratic tickets for the white house. >> it's terrible. is >> in baseball there's one less post-season spot available morning. it's a walkoff two-run blast over the center-field fence. braves beat the marlins 4-3. atlanta clinches a playoff berth. detroit meets the white sox. a run to center-field, top of the fourth kansas city threatening with two runners on but cabrera makes the grab at

third. sanchez on cruise control strikes out ten and goes the distance in a 2-0 shutout for detroit. when we come back late night campaigning, mitt romney's wife an talks to jay leno about having a mormon in the white house. so, when i shop -- i earn twice as much with double extrabucks rewards. that's two times the rewards! yeah, that's what double is. i know. i was agreeing with you. it's two times. act fast and sign up at cvs.com/doublebucks for double quarterly extrabucks rewards. don't miss getting double quarterly extrabucks rewards. i love 'em!

here's a look at the weather in some cities around the country. afternoon thunderstorms in washington, 83 degrees. atlanta 86. thunderstorms in st. louis 79 degrees. partly sunny in denver, 69. same deal in seattle at 72. a soldier based at ft. hood, texas accused of shooting another when he tried to stop the victim's murder. patrick myers was charged with murder. he pointed the victim's gun at his head in order to frighten him. he had the gun had dummy round

when it discharged. both men had been drinking at the time. construction of a monument dedicated to a confederate civil war general have been stopped among protest. they voted to halt the work. he was an early leader of the ku klux klan. there's a dispute whether the city or confederate heritage group owns the cemetery property where underneath will be built. mitt romney campaigns in ohio this week his wife spoke to a national audience last night. she appeared on the "tonight show" with jay leno and asked about the possibility her husband could become the first mormon president in u.s. history. >> you know, i love the fact that we have the first african-american president. to me that means we're leaving prejudices behind. i would hope if mitt were elected we would see more of the same. >> mrs. romney said she told her husband in 2008 she didn't want her husband to run for president

again. coming up the five things you need to know before you vacation solo, leave everybody at home. i'm terrell brown. this is the "cbs morning news". if you think occasional irregularity is no big deal, think twice. it may be a sign that your digestive system could be working better. listen to this. with occasional irregularity, things your body doesn't use could be lingering in your system, causing discomfort. but activia has been shown in clinical studies to help with slow intestinal transit

when consumed 3 times per day. 7 out of 10 doctors recommend activia. and the great taste is recommended by me! ♪ activia

. good morning. welcome to 9news now. today is wednesday, september 26. i'm andrea roane. we sure do appreciate you being here. i'm mike hydeck. good morning, monika samtani. >> good morning. i'm trying to look awake.

i'm faking it. it's been quite a morning. fairly calm and quiet. we have a lot of cloud cover to start off this morning. we will get a little sunshine today but you probably know with the front moving in our direction, the next system is coming our way. although you want your sunglasses this morning, you may need your umbrella later on this evening, especially the drive time home as we're expecting some showers after the 5:00 hour. so far doppler radar looking pretty good. we had a few showers toward the west, front royal, winchester. it's moving on toward the mountain range but we're not expecting it to get into the immediate metro area, at least not close to the beltway. right now calm and quiet. however, we will start to see the clouds increase, particularly late day. i would say 4:00 to 5:00. we should be partly cloudy by the 5:00 p.m. rush. temperatures will make it into the lower range 80s. the late day showers and storms definitely a possibility but for tomorrow and thursday,

watch for mostly cloudy skies and much cooler conditions. monika? >> thank you so much, olga. good morning, everybody. if you're planning to head over on to 95 and 395, there is construction blocking the hov lanes. it's basically between dumfries and the 14th street bridge. that stretch hov lanes are not available till about 5:00 this morning. let's take a live look outside closer to duke street on the northbound side of 395. you can see that no traffic is in those lanes right now. the main lanes, though, are very light so you should be fine if you're heading into downtown early, early this morning. let's go back over to our maps, this time to the north side of town. no problems through the work zone here on the beltway through university boulevard. we'll take a live look on the beltway in prince george's county. i just saw them move over the cones right here on the inner loop after route 1 toward kenilworth avenue. for a time only one lane was getting by. i'll be back with more traffic at 4:39. >> thank you, monika. a discovery at a home in

herndon, virginia has a community and detectives seeking answers. an entire family was found dead inside their home. it's believed this is a case of murder-suicide. >> ken molestina has more on the discovery and the investigation. >> reporter: one by one late in the evening detectives removed the bodies of the family found dead inside their home on the 13000 block of point rider lane in herndon. investigators discovered the bodies of a man and his wife along with their two sons shortly after noon. it's believed this was the result of a murder-suicide. >> shocking to take your other family members, especially the children. it's just heartbreaking. >> reporter: fairfax police are staying tight lipped about the circumstances surrounding the case. they did say they were alerted to the family after both the husband and wife's employers called to say they hadn't sown up to work. neighbors who knew them said they saw them last sometime on sunday. >> they were out here practicing, throwing the baseball. that's the remember time i --

that's the last time i remember seeing them. >> reporter: neighbors described them as outgoing and always ready to lend a hand. one was an eighth grader at carson middle. there was never any sign of trouble inside the home. >> they would help the neighbors and things like that. very nice people all the time, you know, waved to you, hi, how are you doing? i always waved to him as i was coming home from work every day. >> reporter: now loved ones are trying to make sense of this gruesome find that has them all perplexed. >> we have no idea because they were always nice. nobody has ever seen them fighting or arguing or anything like that. >> reporter: the bodies have been taken to a medical examiner's office where an autopsy will be performed to determine the exact cause of death. we're in herndon, ken molestina, 9news. >> d.c. police are investigating a deadly shooting in southeast. around 1113 last night, police responded